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HB 904 - One State One Rate - Tuition Equity Bill Would Create More Fairness for All NC Students

The Justice Center supports HB 904, The In-State Tuition/Some N.C. Immigrant Youth Act, which would allow all young people who have graduated from North Carolina high schools and lived in the state for at least two years to pay the in-state tuition rates at our public colleges and universities.

It was introduced the same week that thousands of immigrants and their families, friends and advocates rallied Congress in Washington, DC and around the country to improve our immigration laws to be more fair, humane and responsive.

Ulises Perez, 18, a junior at Carrboro High School says, "in-state [tuition] is important to me because it's a new door to my education and one step closer to my dream of being the first in my family to go to college." Sixty-one percent of all jobs in North Carolina will require at least some college by 2020.

Providing in-state college tuition regardless of immigration status is a growing national trend. In the past year, Maryland, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Colorado approved in-state tuition changes bringing the total to 16 states with such measures.

We believe higher education should be equally accessible for all of our state’s students. This is about basic fairness and common sense.

Our state is deeply rooted in education—let’s stand together and invest in our young people for a stronger North Carolina.

Let's Learn NC is a statewide campaign initiative of the Adelante Education Coalition for college tuition equality. The campaign strives to generate awareness of the current tuition inequality as well as introduce state legislation that will provide in-state tuition to all eligible resident students, regardless of their immigration status. To learn more about the campaign, visit http://www.letslearnnc.org and to learn more about the Adelante Education Coalition, please visit en.adelantenc.org.